Kentucky Derby men’s attire for 2017 searches often turn up pictures taken by people outside of Louisville that are having a Derby party outside of Kentucky. However, since StoryWood BowTies are made in Louisville, Kentucky within a mile of Churchill Downs, we have some insight about 2017 Kentucky Derby men’s fashion that is locally popular.

To get a scoop on our take on fashion for men for Derby Day 2017, take a look at some of our reviews from 2017 Kentucky Derby fashion shows that represented StoryWood BowTies. One other thing we couldn’t help noticing is that — with all of the wild patterns and colors being represented this year for men’s fashion — our wood bow ties are the perfect neutral color to tie together any color or pattern combination. For couples struggling to find a way to have matching outfits for the Derby this year, our bow ties are the perfect way to tie-in your outfits.

Louisville Bespoke fashion show at the Speed Art Museum

Each year, Louisville, Kentucky, has fashion shows to prepare for the Kentucky Derby. This year, StoryWood BowTies was lucky to be invited to a few of these events. A major fashion pulsepoint in the Louisville design community is the Bespoke organization, and we were lucky to be part of their Instagram page after their Speed Art Museum fashion show.

In addition to showing a few models wearing some of the 15 designs in our current limited edition wooden bowtie collection, they also emphasized some of the upcoming trends for Kentucky Derby men’s fashion. Some things we noticed about trends are as follows:

Fine Spun Clothing – A local Louisville company that designs menswear, their presentations at fashion shows we have attended for the 2017 KY Derby often have jewel tone pastels. For example, they have an Instagram photo from the Speed Art Museum fashion show that features four men wearing business jackets in a light heather gray, a heathered light blue, plum, and this season’s top color: royal blue.

They were quoted about the spirit of what men should wear for the Kentucky Derby, and they said that “colorful patterns and bow ties rule the day.” This year for the 2017 Kentucky Derby, Fine Spun is featuring a lot of pastel plaids for men in surprising combinations that honor the trending Glen Plaid or Glenurquhart Check.

CQ Luxe: Another participant in the Bespoke Kentucky Derby fashion show at the Speed Art Museum was a leather arts company from Italy. We were happy to see our wood bow ties were worn that night by one of their models — but not in the way first expected.

One of CQ Luxe’s female models wore an off-the-shoulder white dress shirt with coral palazzo pants — and she topped off the outfit by wearing one of our wood bow ties as a choker/necklace. We were stunned by the results, and loved the idea of women wearing our wood bow ties for the 2017 Kentucky Derby with dresses and open-collar shirts.

Frazier History Museum “Downs with Derby” fundraiser

We were honored to join the silent auction for a 2017 Kentucky Derby fashion show held at Frazier History Museum a couple of miles from Churchill Downs. The event intended to raise money for a local charity for people living with Down Syndrome called Downs with Derby.

StoryWood BowTies was happy to donate to the event and show off our limited edition bow ties for 2017. Although the fashion show featured many ideas for women looking for Kentucky Derby dress and hat trends, there were only a few ideas for the men.

A couple of ideas that caught our eye were the red velvet dinner jackets for men and the “Harry Styles” blazer. Likely made popular by his hero, Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, Harry Styles amazed his fans at the AMA’s while wearing a Gucci black-and-white floral print blazer with matching pants. This trend is now taking over menswear at events such as dances and prom, and the 2017 Derby is likely not the last time you will see men wearing the floral blazers.

One other 2017 Kentucky Derby fashion trend we saw at the Frazier History Museum fashion show was the idea that couples should match on Derby Day. This year, the trend for women is bright florals on a white background, and men can be fumbling to find the best Kentucky Derby outfit. However, one couple that participated in the fashion show did it right by combining the best his/her Derby trends.

By wearing a black blazer with a blue/green/white gingham button-down shirt, the man was able to match at least one color in his partner’s printed dress that was also the key color of her Derby hat/fascinator. Naturally, we could not help but notice that he was not wearing a tie.

If you cannot figure out how to match prints, plaids or other colors for your Kentucky Derby outfit, men and women both have the option to buy one of our wood bow ties. Due to their neutral color, they not only automatically match all colors and patterns of clothing — but they also match every occasion.

No matter what you wear, have fun at the 2017 Kentucky Derby, and be sure to tag #StoryWood when you are wearing one of our wood bow ties in your photos on social media.